Author: sage_admin

SAN DIEGO – Sage Executive Group, a San Diego-based membership network and advisory group for business leaders, announced record growth in its membership. Sage has grown from startup four years ago to a premier peer advisory organization for CEOs of more than 90 San Diego and Orange County members, with total revenues from their businesses exceeding $1.5 billion and averaging a 15 percent growth from 2014 to 2015.
As part of its expanding role to become a key training and development organization for leading San Diego-area companies, Sage has expanded its reach to include special groups for sales leaders, creative agency executives, marketing professionals and facility managers.
What sets Sage apart in working with the region’s top executives is a philosophy emphasizing values, encouraging business leaders to put people before profits, and learning how to effectively balance business demands and responsibilities to family, community and health. Members, ranging from CEOs of large-scale companies to up-and-coming sales executives at new enterprises, meet monthly to share ideas, solve problems and exchange feedback about their professional and personal challenges.
“Sage offers camaraderie and support of people who are going through some of the same things you are,” said Sage member Steve Wagner, co-founder and brewmaster of Stone Brewing Co. “We share and give each other ideas for how to better balance life, and take good care of your business and your family.”
Sage’s growth has been guided by founder and CEO Jerry Rollins, a successful San Diego businessman and entrepreneur whose management approach is grounded in his early career as a professional hockey player. His sports experience of coaching and being coached, as well as his expertise in business team building, has translated into Sage’s emphasis on values-based leadership.
Sage’s identity, and resulting rapid growth, is founded on groups of 10 to 12 like-minded executives who meet monthly in half-day sessions led by a seasoned business leader. Members work together to address and solve critical issues impacting their business and personal lives. Each group offers a scholarship to a member who leads a nonprofit organization in the local area. Sage also holds quarterly networking events featuring a presentation by marketing and sales experts. Sage members contribute to educational growth by offering aspiring students college scholarships on an annual basis.
Sage Executive Group was launched in 2012 by Rollins, who served as the CEO, president and owner of four companies for more than 21 years, and San Diego entrepreneur Brian Yui, a specialist in building companies from the ground up.
For more information, contact SAGE Executive Group at (800) 648-1063 or visit www.sageexecutivegroup.com.
Media Contact: Chuck Buxton
chuck@sageexecutivegroup.com or (619) 892-8119

Nine speakers gave presentations at the inauguration of the Sage Talks event hosted by Sage Executive Group at the Grand Del Mar hotel in San Diego on Feb. 8, 1015. Here is a summary of their talks with links to YouTube videos of their presentations.
TONY BARON: Speaker, writer and theologian. The Awakened Leader
Author of The Art of Servant Leadership and director of the Graduate School of Theology at Azusa Pacific University in San Diego. Scholar in Residence at the Center for Executive Excellence in Carlsbad.
In his presentation, titled “The Awakened Leader: Three Little Words That Will Transform Your World,” he talked about how 80 percent of organizations they don’t have a purpose-driven approach. In his book, as in his presentation, he encourages companies and individuals to practice the art of giving back. He also encourages CEOs to have a high trust level with employees, and to let know employees that they will care for them and their families
He ended his presentation with his grandson’s words: “ I know you love me because you are with me.”
MICHEL KRIPALANI: CEO, Oceanhouse media. Commit to 3
A developer of mobile apps, his previous work at startups includes Presto Studios, a video game developer, and an intereactive multimedia company. His company mantra is, “Creativity With a Purpose.” He is a UCSD alumni.
In his presentation, he explained that things doesn’t happen overnight. For an entrepreneur , he said we need to ask ourselves : “How we are spending the time?” Make the change you need to change behaviors, he said.
Kripalani told the story of how his family taught him to take care of the important things first . He ackowledged the power of habit and the value of commiting to three things to do each day. In his own life, he keeps a chart on how he is spending his time. He recommended three of his favorite books that changed his daily focus:

1. The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business. By Charles Duhigg:

2.  Triggers: Creating Behavior That Lasts – Becoming the Person You Want to Be. By Marshall Goldsmith. The right behaviors matter. But getting it right is tricky. Even when we acknowledge the need to change what we do and how we do it, life has a habit of getting in the way, upsetting even the best-laid plans. Feedforward can cover almost all of the same material feedback can. Imagine you have just made a terrible presentation in front of the executive committee. Your manager is in the room. Rather than make you relive this humiliating experience by detailing what went wrong, your manager might help you by offering suggestions for future presentations. These suggestions can be very specific and still delivered in a positive way – without making you feel even more humiliated.
3. The One Thing. By Gary Keller. Work is a rubber ball. If you drop it, it will bounce back. The other four balls — family, health, friends, integrity — are made of glass. If you drop one of these, it will be irrevocably scuffed, nicked, perhaps even shattered. Success demands singleness of purpose. “A different result requires doing something different.”
ALAN NEVIN: Director of Economic and Market Research at Xpera Group. The Great Divide.
Nevin has an extensive background in real estate economics, lending and market analysis. He serves the development, investment, legal and public agency communities with residential and commercial real estate valuation, feasibility and real estate advisory services and litigation support.
He gave an economic forecast for the next years. With record low interest rates, this is the time to buy real estate. His presentation included graphics that compared other states and showed how California is and will stay for the next 20 years a place for innovation and opportunities. The millenial babies will inherit great capital from their parents that will actívate economy and spending for the next 25 years.
JOE KESHMIRI: President of CEO Institute for Global Innovation. From IQ to EQ, and Now XQ
Keshmiri advises business organizations on innovative strategy, leadership, integration of intergenerational/international cultures, and managing change.
He explored the meaning of Emotional Intelligence and how an organization’s performance can suffer when the leaders and managers have a low EQ behavior.  Emotional Intelligence is the ability to effectively manage emotions and bring a high level of psychological understanding to collaboration and team work.
“Learning more about emotional intelligence can help individuals and teams develop into a fleet of top performers who produce higher levels of profitability while creating an energized healthier workplace,” Keshmiri said.
From the perspective of a marketing student, it is clear that a well-developed emotional quotient can help in building a marketing strategy and sensing at a deeply emotional level what speaks to a customer what makes them attach to the Brand they like.
SAMANTHA ANDERSON, Co-founder of 41 Orange. A Hybrid Social Media Strategy
San Diego-based 41 Orange specializes in social media and has managed more than 50 different campaigns for live events, restaurants, B2B service providers and e-commerce companies.
Anderson showed the importance of a company giving the best response to clients and replying on time to customers via social media, pointing out that to date there are 90 millions reviews in Yelp
She pointed out that 53 percent of customers will share a negative experience. A company must avoid this kind of critical review or risk losing a client . A company needs to respond promptly and have a planned strategy to respond on time and be able to assist customers. Companies need to coordinate customer service, social media and marketing to effectively implement a hybrid strategy for talking to customers.
STEPHEN COBB: Senior Cyber Security executive for ESET. Cybersecurity and Cybercrime
Cobb talked about the importance of securing the information in a company and in our lives and of raising awareness of cybersecurity and cyber threats. Make sure that the solutions we buy have effective security, because as technoloty progresses, we are more exposed and in danger to have our data stole
Wearable products and companies are a source of information about people. Data criminals target endpoints and servers. Wearables are endpoints that rely on servers for many of the benefits they deliver. In other words, the wearables business will be targeted by cybercriminals. We all will be put at risk if we don’t think about the security of the data from day one,
BRIAN SMITH: Creator of the UGG import company. The Birth of UGG
Smith, who was born in Australia and studied at the UCLA Graduate School of Management, talked about the birth of UGG. He pointed that every company starts with a concept, with a brand. It is like and infant that you need to care for and nurture through the toddler years.
When introducing a new product , a new theory in the business market, there will be a tremendous resistance. You need to have perseverance. In the case of UGG, the company and brand started in the surfer environment. But surfer shops were not interested in selling boots and that was the challenge . Smith teaches that in the journey to success, you need to find the right message, develop the need and have a passion for the product.
WADE HANSEN: CEO of investment banking firm Cabrillo Advisors. What is My True Value
When you want to sell your business, you need to know how much you are worth. That is when you need someone to help you set the value of your company.
Sometimes difficult situation arise like a divorce when different interest want the value of your business to be different. Your work so hard you need to know how much is your company and not settle with any offer. Take the time to hire professionals to give you the value of your company, and then you will be ready to make the right decisions.
G.A. BARTICK: President of R3 consultants. Leading Leaders
Bartick showed that it is not enough to be enthusiastic and to engage a customer to get the sale. You need to have a plan and a strategy to close the deal At the end of his presentation he gave each member a copy of his recent book, Silver Bullet Selling, in which he gives six steps to improve sales performance and build trusting relationships with customers.
The event sponsors for the event were:
Halo BI: A San Diego based firm offering intelligent business solutions for companies with significant supply chains that are facing rising raw material, transportation and employee costs.
GLC – Growth and Liquidity Consulting Group: A La Jolla boutique investment bank and consulting firm serving a variety of venture-backed and other privately held companies.
Thrivent Financial: A Fortune 500 financial services non profit organization headquarteered in Minneapolis that helps Christians with investment decisions and offers a range of financial products.
PM Talent Global: A San Diego technology services company providing expert guidance on comprehensive solutions and strategic staffing focused on effective outcomes.
Voit Real State Services: A provider of commercial real estate services throughout Southern California and nationally, with expertise in commercial real estate ownership, operations, tenant-corporate representation and full service brokerage.
By Cecilia Johnson
UCSD Extension Business Program graduate student and Sage Executive Group intern.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

By Cecilia Johnson
UCSD Extension Business Program graduate student and Sage Executive Group intern
Nine speakers representing some of the best business minds in San Diego gave powerful insights into strategy, vision, purpose and life values at the debut of “Sage Talks” sponsored by Sage Executive Group and attended by members of the peer advisory group at the Grand Del Mar hotel in San Diego on Dec. 8.
Sage CEO Jerry Rollins moderated the event with a goal of bringing new information to Sage’s members so they can apply it to building better leadership and creativity for their companies. Sage, in its role of mentoring top executives, strives to bring a competitive advantage to its members and to be part of their journey of success.
The talks, each less than 20 minutes and modeled on the popular TED Talks format, were given over four hours during the afternoon. Before the speeches, about 100 members and guests had an opportunity to socialize at a buffet lunch and afterwards to share ideas and observations at a reception on the hotel patio, festively decorated for the holidays.
From the perspective of a business student, the talks accentuated the importance of a moral commitment to employees, as well as family and community. Speaker after speaker shared experiences and life stories that were not only about overcoming obstacles and achieving success, but about a strong consciousness of being good people overall and of providing integrity and trust in personal and business relations.
In his role as moderator, Rollins played a dual role of keeping the nine talks rigorously on schedule and also fostering a climate of belonging to a learning group.
For more information, click on Sage Executive Group. To view the nine talks, go to Sage Executive Group’s YouTube Channel.
 

If you are comfortable with your strategic planning, then you need to shift your perspective, escape the trap of “tried-and-tested tools” and focus on key areas that very likely will bring “fear and discomfort,” said business consultant Stacey McKibbin in a presentation to San Diego business executives.
McKibbin, president of Multivariable Solutions and a coach with Sage Executive Group, challenged business leaders to understand that in today’s hyper-competitive environment, strategy “is more of an intuitive and messy process, not the analytical process we’ve made it to be.”
The breakfast meeting in early November was sponsored by Sage Executive Group, a fast-growing, San Diego-based peer advisory group for top managers ranging from CEOs and C-level executives to sales and marketing directors.
Effective strategic planning embraces the unknown, requires unwavering focus by a small group of top executives who have inherent trust in each other, and demands a commitment of time each week over a year or more. “Once strategy is nailed, execution is very systematic and sequential,” McKibbin said.
It is critical to assemble the right team, a group of four to five leaders drawn from the top ranks such as CEO, co-founders, head of sales or marketing, all with one attribute in common – trust. The team’s main job is to determine the focus for the future, concentrating not on everything the business does for every customer, but on its most profitable and value-driven core. This is the 7 percent that effectively defines the company and draws customers who are attracted and sustained by “value” of what the company provides and are willing to pay for it.
“This becomes you Number 1 thing to focus on,” McKibbin said.
For more information on McKibbin’s presentation, you can reach her at stacey@multivs.us or (844) 433-3328.
Click here to learn more about Sage Executive Group.

In building a successful team, there’s an important lesson to be learned in both business and in sports, according to Jerry Rollins, CEO of Sage Executive Group.
It’s wisdom he acquired not in a graduate school business class, but in the day-to-day challenges of drawing the best from available talent, whether from the sales force of a company striving to meet profit goals, or a professional hockey team hustling to score victories.
“What I learned in business,” said Rollins in a presentation to about 50 business executives in August, is that “there’s a very thin line between winning and losing.” Key factors to success are shared vision and values, commitment to goals “owned” by everyone in the organization, and leadership at every level of the company.
Rollins’ talk drew from his experiences helping grow companies and helping chief executives work together on some of their toughest problems in the confidential environment of Sage Executive Group, peer advisory organization created three years ago.
Much of the video features his give and take with executives making critical budgetary and personnel decisions. Every team has A, B and C players, and the discussion centered on the importance of having an action plan for every employee and a way to assess and deal with the effect they have on the company’s success or failure. Hiring, too, is a critical component in which the team leader has a critical responsibility for recruiting from a carefully cultivated network of high performers.
To view Rollins presentation, and his interaction with top San Diego-area CEOs, go to Building Great Teams.

A new peer advisory group has been created for marketing professionals under the leadership of Angela Hill, CEO of creative agency Incitrio, Sage Executive Group announced today.
Members, who are active in shaping marketing plans and strategies for their companies, will meet monthly to learn best practices from their peers, share ideas, explore technological solutions, and discuss challenges in a rapidly changing marketing environment. Positions include: Marketing Director, Digital Marketer, and MarCom Manager.
“Being part of the Sage Marketing Group will enhance the skill set of market professionals in leveraging innovative technology, learning best practices from one another, and developing ROI-driven strategies to accelerate revenue growth for their employers,” Hill said
Hill founded Incitrio, an award-winning global branding agency, in 2004 in Solana Beach. The Incitrio strategic branding process has been developed over two decades through big agency experience and a long roster of Fortune 500 past clients. The agency provides full-service marketing solutions focused on helping clients achieve their revenue growth objectives. Hill is also a board member with Big Brothers Big Sisters of San Diego County and teaches Branding, Web Design, and Online Marketing at the University of San Diego.
Sage Executive Group was established in 2012 in San Diego and operates peer advisory groups for CEOs, presidents, and partners, as well as for C-level executives in finance, operations and sales. The Sage process has been developed by leaders who have over 45 years of collective experience with CEO peer advisory groups. For more information, contact Sage Executive Group at (800) 648-1063 or visit https://www.sageexecutivegroup.com.
 

Sage Executive Group has created a new peer advisory group for facility managers under the leadership of Ron Harrell, CEO of San Diego-based facility services company MyOffice.
Facility management professionals, each from a company with more than $10 million in annual revenues, will meet monthly with about a dozen of their peers to share ideas, explore solutions and develop strategies to better serve their companies.
Harrell said the Sage process is aimed at helping members grow professionally and personally. In his role as coach, he helps facility managers in the group “discover what’s working and what’s not, best practices, future challenges, how they are interacting with upper executive management and in the process how to be a better manager of people who report to them.”
Harrell founded MyOffice and has been CEO for the past 27 years, providing multiple facility management services in one place and working with companies that are expanding, downsizing, moving or planning to buy or liquidate office equipment.
Sage Executive Group was established in 2012 in San Diego and operates peer advisory groups for CEOs, presidents, and partners, as well as for C-level executives in finance, operations and sales. The Sage process has been developed by leaders who have over 45 years of collective experience with CEO peer advisory groups. As a result, Sage knows what it takes to create an effective and value-driven member experience. For more information, contact Sage Executive Group at (800) 648-1063 or visit www.sageexecutivegroup.com.
 

On Tuesday, March 24, Sage Executive Group invites you to attend an exclusive event featuring Brandon Black, former CEO of San Diego-based Capital Encore Group. His story traces the growth – and challenges – in leading a company from near bankruptcy to one of the nation’s leaders in the consumer debt-buying industry.
Event:  Lessons Learned in Leadership
Where: Corporate Alliance
9171 Towne Centre Dr., #180
Barney & Barney Building, First Floor
San Diego, CA  92122
When:   Tuesday, March 24, 2015
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. | Reception/Networking
6:00 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. | Keynote Speaker
Please RSVP at https://www.sageexecutivegroup.com/RSVP or by calling (800) 985-7486.
Brandon Black, who received his MBA from the University of Richmond, moved from Capital One to Encore Capital Group in 2000 as Chief Operating Officer with responsibility for helping rescue a company in danger of running out of money in three months. He helped take the firm public in 2003 and became CEO in 2005.  By the time he stepped down in 2013, Encore Capital’s annual revenues had reached $1 billion and it had been listed as a Fortune 100 Fastest Growing Company, recognized as San Diego’s Healthiest Large Company, and named one of the Top 50 Companies to work for in India.

The business leaders who belong to Sage Executive Group deal with challenges across a broad spectrum of the economy and have first-hand understanding of the opportunities and obstacles ahead. This blog from members of Sage’s peer-to-peer advisory groups offers insights and advice.
Kevin Landry is the  CEO/Owner of New Horizons Computer Learning Centers of Southern California, which has  offices in San Diego, Anaheim, Burbank, Culver City and San Bernardino and provides IT learning solutions to companies and individuals, helping them make the most of their software investments.
While the economic climate is brightening across the country and Landry is upbeat about revenue prospects for his company, he cautions that California’s business regulations and requirements are distracting, and even stifling.  Here’s what he had to say in an interview in February:
“In California, we have our own set of challenges with the national groundswell going one way and California pulling us in another direction. We saw voters nationwide go to a certain philosophy and direction while the state of California retrenched. We find it restrictive and difficult to do business. Other states have  fewer regulations,  less intrusiveness,  and a  lower  cost of doing business. Sometimes I’m envious of them.
“Obamacare did affect how we bonus our people. We used to cover 100 percent of family insurance for our managers, and now that is considered discriminatory and we can’t do that. I don’t believe government should be telling us how to reward  our people.
“Every city has a different requirement for how sick leave is accrued. We are forced to be aware of each and every different municipality. It takes my focus off our primary mission , thinking of where we’re going to be in 6 to 12 months from now. I should be working on the business, not at the business.”
“Do we want to continue to grow in California, or think about moving jobs outside California, or to models where we’re not creating jobs? For example, we no longer  need to have an instructor in class in  California. The instructors can now deliver the class from a remote location in another state via  online delivery.
“We are forced to do things and pay licensing fees such as UC Irvine or UC San Diego. Governing agencies are difficult to work with and can be onerous, bureaucratic. It’s the administrivia that state agencies and audit agencies put on us.
“We’ve done well. Last year we grew just under 30 percent. We have an optimistic forecast for 2015; we are bullish on short-term opportunities.”
SAGE ADVICE from executive peer advisory group
“Settle on a philosophy and a set of principles and diligently implement that strategy no matter how painful it is. Some people are not going to make the transition and some people are. Friendships are going to be challenged. The CEO is going to have to make decisions in the best interest of the company, not the best interest of the friendship.”
“When we put the company ahead of everything else, it’s amazing how well the company has done.”

Have you ever had pre-game jitters, been nervous before a big sales presentation, or been concerned about delivering bad news to an employee, boss or board of directors?
My answer to the question of Fear as a Motivator is both No and Yes
To support the No reply in respect to  business leaders or sports coaches, it is  true that short-term results can be gained by utilizing fear as a motivator. Having said that, the results are never pleasant, and long term it is not the right way to motivate people. Short-term results do not turn into long-term achievement. The best examples supporting this conclusion have been exhibited by very successful college coaches who rule with iron fists utilizing fear tactics. Invariably they try to move onto the pro ranks and that is where these  tactics do not work with true professionals. It is exhibited in the business world by autocratic leaders who achieve short-term goals but miss long-term objectives because they cannot retain their people.
On the Yes side of the equation  are my studies of  highly successful leaders, coaches  and athletes. A common trait they share is their self imposed and innate fear of failure.  Each day they are concerned with disappointing their teams, or fears of not achieving their vision and goals. What this group has in common is that they are high achievers and are considered best in class by those that know them.
One of the defining factors of true winners, leaders, coaches and employees  is the ability to face their fears and to not become paralyzed by them. An old coach of mine told me that everyone has their fears, but my  ability to act on and overcome them would define my level of success.
If Fear is controlling you, it may be time to confront it and see what the worst outcome is. In my own experience, it was rarely as bad as I made it out to be.

“I have learned over the years that when one’s mind is made up, this diminishes fear; knowing what must be done does away with fear.” Rosa Parks

Weekly Wisdom by Jerry Rollins, CEO and Chairman of Sage Executive Group